Concert Chaos
by phoebenpiper
Summary: Ryan and Sharpay go to see JONAS in concert! Based on my real-life experiences at the JoBros concert in San Jose on August 3, 2009 -- a girl at the concert had a Ryan-like JoBros pink fedora, and thus this story... Enjoy!


**Concert Chaos**

_by phoebenpiper_

[Author's note: fanfic-dot-net does not allow stories with "real people" as characters. While the JoBros are not technically _characters_ in this story they do appear in the concert. I wanted to make sure I didn't get in trouble so I have referred to them by their fictional names from their TV show: the band is called JONAS and the brothers' last name is Lucas. Sorry for any confusion - I just don't want to get in trouble! Thanks!]

"Turn around."

"Shar!"

"Turn around!" Sharpay barked, and after a dramatic sigh, her brother reluctantly obeyed.

As he slowly turned in place, Sharpay took in his latest outfit. He was wearing black skinny jeans (of course!), a white buttoned shirt, and a black vest. Around his neck was wrapped a pink fringed scarf held closed by a metal "Nick" pin. And atop Ryan's blond hair sat his crowning glory - a pink fedora with the JONAS logo emblazoned all over it!

"I have to know," Sharpay asked. "Wherever did you get your fabulous hat?"

"Claire's."

Sharpay involuntarily cringed - she would NEVER be caught dead in such a cheap accessories store! Clearly she was going to have to get Ryan to buy one for her.

"So?" Ryan sounded nervous as he impatiently tapped his foot. "What's the verdict?"

Sharpay smiled - she would be happy to be seen with her brother in that outfit. Nodding her head, she declared, "I approve - you look fabulous."

"Finally!" Ryan stormed out of Sharpay's bedroom, calling back over his shoulder. "And if we don't hurry, we're gonna be late!"

...

"You brought a poster?" Sharpay clearly sounded appalled. "I don't remember saying you could bring a poster."

Ryan rolled his eyes - even a year apart hadn't changed his sister's controlling habits! "I don't remember YOU being in charge of me," he answered back.

His sister stared at him for a moment before finally admitting, "Wow, Ry - I guess a year at Juilliard finally gave you some BALLS!"

"Shar!" Ryan scolded, gesturing to the crowd of young girls around them. "Watch your language!"

"Oh puh-lease!" Shar said dismissively. "If any of these girls have ever watched a JONAS Video, they're familiar with balls - those boys wear such tight pants that-"

"Okay, okay," Ryan interrupted, not wanting her to get any more graphic. "I get your point. Just be careful about what you say tonight."

Sharpay shook her head, clearly annoyed, and then gestured to the poster in Ryan's hands. "So ... let's see it."

Ryan took a calming breath, trying to gather his courage, before holding up his poster for his sister to see. He'd been up late last night, trying to decide what to write. Finally he'd decided that simple was best, so he'd painted a giant heart on the neon pink posterboard and written in large letters: "NICK, UR GR8!"

Sharpay suppressed a giggle. "When did you turn into a 9-year-old girl, Ryan?"

"Hey!" Ryan protested. "And you better not say anything negative about 9-year-old girls, or this crowd is liable to tear you limb from limb."

His sister didn't seem concerned. Instead she commented, "Nick's never gonna see that, you know."

"Well, it's not MY fault we're not in the front row."

Sharpay's hand flew to her mouth, gasping in horror, exactly as Ryan had hoped. He loved rubbing that unfortunate fact in her face! He'd suggested that they try to get their tickets the morning they went on sale, but Sharpay had INSISTED that "Daddy" could score them incredible seats. For once, Mr. Evans hadn't been able to come through, and they'd been forced to buy their tickets the old-fashioned way. Luckily Ryan had found them some decent seats, but they weren't front row like his sister was used to, and he knew that, for once, she was kicking herself for not listening to him.

Sharpay, however, recovered from Ryan's low blow relatively quickly and returned her attention to his poster. "Well, at least you didn't try to DRAW Nick! Can you believe how pathetic some of these girls are?" she said, gesturing to the posters the girls around them were holding.

Ryan nodded and smiled weakly, making a mental note to dump the trash from his bedroom as soon as he got home - he'd never hear the end of it if she saw all his crumpled sketches.

"Let's go sign their bus," Sharpay said, grabbing her brother's hand and leading him through the crowd. The giant JONAS tour bus was parked in front of the arena, covered with messages from fans all over. Ever since Sharpay had read about the bus, she'd been plotting how to make her mark.

"Wow!" Ryan said as they reached the bus.

"I know!" Sharpay said, discreetly pulling a can of neon pink spray paint out of her purse and starting to shake it.

The rattle of the metal ball inside the can must've caught Ryan's attention for he suddenly gasped and stage-whispered, "Shar! What are you DOING? That sign says not to use spray paint."

"And THAT sign says not to write on the windshield, but no one seems to be following it, either." Sharpay pried the cap off the can and glanced around to make sure no guards were watching. "Okay, Ry, cover me."

She quickly sprayed a giant "SE" across the entire side of the bus. When she'd finished, she took a step back to admire her handiwork - Joe would DEFINITELY get her message!

She turned and tried to hand the spray paint to her brother, but he shooed it away.

"That's okay," he said. "I'll stick with Sharpie - the sign says the bus likes Sharpies."

Sharpay rolled her eyes - she'd never understand why her brother was always so willing to be ordinary when it was so easy to be fabulous!

Yet Ryan was still standing there, as if waiting for something. When she gave him an inquiring look, he asked sheepishly, "Do you have a Sharpie?"

Sharpay sighed and scrounged around in the bottom of her giant purse. Pulling out a pink and silver gel pen, she asked, "Will this do?"

Ryan nodded, taking the pen from her and then writing on the bus the same message from his poster, signing it underneath.

Sharpay shook her head as she took back her pen. "I just don't understand why you like Nick. OBVIOUSLY Joe is the hottest."

"Well, OBVIOUSLY Joe is the one that's gonna end up in rehab," Ryan retorted. "Besides, Nick is OBVIOUSLY the most talented. I mean, he played Gavroche in _Les Miz_. On BROADWAY! And he plays piano and guitar and drums and-"

"Yes yes yes, Ryan. I've heard it all before." He sounded like a broken record! "I'm just saying that if you really want a CHANCE with one of the Lucas brothers, you should go for Kevin. He's OBVIOUSLY not into girls."

"Shar, he's ENGAGED!" Ryan insisted.

"And you took Kelsi to prom - your point is?"

Ryan opened his mouth to respond but naturally nothing came out - it's impossible to argue with basic logic!

"C'mon, Shar," Ryan said, trying to drag his sister over towards the swelling crowd. "We have to go in over here."

"But there's no line over here," Shar said, trying to drag him back in the opposite direction. "Let's go in THIS door."

"But that's for people in suites," Ryan said, pointing out the sign. "And we're in-"

"Steerage," Sharpay finished for him. "I know, I KNOW! How many times do I have to apologize before you'll let it go?"

'Even ONCE would be enough," Ryan thought but kept his mouth shut.

"Hey look, Ry - we KNOW him, don't we?" Sharpay asked, pointing to the usher at the Suites door.

Ryan turned and looked. Sure enough, the boy in the blue blazer standing at the door was from East High. "We SHOULD know him, Shar," Ryan pointed out. "He only ran lights for every single show we did with Ms. Darbus!"

"So what's his name?" Sharpay asked impatiently as she tried to get the boy's attention.

"Seriously, Shar? You don't remember?" Even after all these years, Ryan was still amazed at how self-centered his sister could be.

Sharpay sighed frustratedly. "I can't be expected to remember the names of EVERYONE on crew!"

Ryan didn't bother to point out that Mark was the only one ON light crew.

"You hoo!" Sharpay called, waving her arm flirtatiously at Mark. While still smiling broadly in his direction, she mumbled out of the side of her mouth, "C'mon, Ryan. Don't leave me hanging here! What's his name?"

Ryan was torn. On the one hand, he enjoyed torturing his sister. But on the other hand, he didn't relish joining the huge throng of screaming pre-teen girls surging in through the General Admission doors.

"Yo, Mark!" Ryan called out, waving to the boy.

Mark smiled and waved them over to his door. "Hey, guys. Good to see you."

"Good to see you, too, MARK," Sharpay said pointedly, batting her long eyelashes at him.

"How's life since graduation?" Ryan asked.

Mark shrugged. "It's good. U of A's treating me well. But your sister should know that - I see her on campus all the time."

"You DO?" Ryan was now even more annoyed with his twin.

She, however, didn't seem to notice. Instead, she held out their tickets to the boy, smiling sweetly. "So ... this is your summer job, Mark?"

Ryan smiled at Sharpay's awkward attempt at pleasant conversation - she usually didn't bother speaking to the Help unless she needed something.

"Actually I work here all year, " Mark replied as he scanned the barcodes on their tickets. "If you ever want to get into a hockey game, Sharpay, just let me know."

Ryan stifled a laugh - hockey wasn't really Shar's thing.

Though she might enjoy the blood!

"Uh ... yeah," Sharpay said, rummaging in her large purse. She pulled out a folded piece of pink fabric and handed it to Mark. "Can you take care of this for me, Mark?"

Mark smiled and nodded.

"What is that?" Ryan asked, but Sharpay simply grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door into the noisy arena.

...

Sharpay glanced up from her phone as Ryan ran up.

"So what'd you buy?" she asked, not really interested but knowing it was expected of her.

Ryan held up a black t-shirt with a photo of Nick on it. "It's his 'charity' shirt," Ryan explained. "All proceeds go to diabetes research."

That was so typical of Ryan - helping others yet still getting what he wanted! A part of Sharpay wished she could be more like him sometimes.

"I'm surprised you didn't get the poster, too," she commented, remembering how much Ryan had gone on and on about that photo when they'd seen it in _Tween Times_.

"Poster?" Ryan looked back at the concessions stand. "I didn't even SEE the poster," he whined.

"Well go get back in line."

Ryan shook his head. "I waited 20 minutes in line for THIS," he said, holding up his new shirt, "and if anything, the line's gotten LONGER."

"So? What ELSE are we gonna do?" The concert wasn't going to start for another hour, and it wasn't like there were any cute boys their age for them to flirt with, so Ryan might as well spend his time standing in line.

But apparently he preferred to play the martyr. "No, that's okay," he said, sighing dramatically. "I guess I don't NEED another poster."

"What-ever," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes at her brother's drama queen behavior! "Just wait here while I hit the ladies' room, and then we can go find our seats."

She hurried inside the restroom, surprised to find no line for the stalls. When she'd finished, she washed her hands, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. The temporary tattoos on her cheeks looked fabulous, totally complementing her pink rhinestone "Mrs. Joe Lucas" shirt and her matching mini-skirt. She was more than ready for this concert!

When she emerged from the ladies' room, Ryan was standing in front of a pillar, looking longingly at the poster hanging on it. The poster had the same photo as the tour poster, yet this one was an ad for Verizon Wireless. Sharpay took a long look at her brother's pathetic expression and, without pausing, determinedly walked over and ripped the poster down.

"Shar!" Ryan gasped, glancing around nervously as if an alarm were about to sound.

"Oh puh-lease, Ryan! They wouldn't hang them up if they didn't expect people to take them - I'm just sayin'!"

As Sharpay folded the poster to stuff it in her purse, she noticed that the ad was made of smooth vinyl that didn't wrinkle, making it MUCH nicer than the paper one Ryan would've stood in line for.

Sharpay smiled at the implications. In that one simple act, they'd both gotten what they wanted: she got Ryan to stop whining, and he got an awesome poster. Apparently she WAS capable of good deeds!

...

As Ryan took his seat on the aisle, he took in the stage in front of him. Instead of a standard proscenium stage, JONAS had instead chosen to perform in the round, with a central turntable ramping down to two circular stages, one on each side. And above it all hung a circular screen suspended from the ceiling.

"These seats aren't bad," Ryan commented, realizing they'd have a good view of all three stages from this vantage point.

"Ryan, you don't have to keep rubbing it in! I KNOW I should've let you buy the tickets on-"

"Shar, I'm just saying these seats aren't bad." Not wanting his sister to be mad, he quickly pointed out, "Look - you can text in your photo and they'll post it on the screen."

Sharpay frantically rustled through her purse and then practically threw her phone at him. "Quick - take my picture!" She tossed her long hair behind her shoulder and smiled winningly at Ryan.

"Why don't I take one of both of us?' he suggested, leaning in towards Sharpay and holding the phone at arms-length.

"Don't, Ryan!" Sharpay barked. "Self-portraits are so RETARDED!"

Ryan noticed the man in the aisle turn and glare at them as he helped his Down's Syndrome daughter down the stairs. Ryan cringed and nodded sheepishly towards the child, chastising his sister, "Shar, watch what you're saying! And keep your voice down!"

Sharpay noticed the girl and momentarily looked chagrined. Lowering her voice somewhat, she explained, "You KNOW what I mean, Ry. Self-portraits always end up at a funky angle, off-center, and there's always that awkward arm sticking out towards the camera. They're totally LAME!"

A woman several rows in front of them turned and glared, and this time Ryan didn't have to point out the young child walking with braces to her seat.

"WTF?" Sharpay sounded truly exasperated. "Are there NO words for 'stupid' that don't OFFEND somebody?"

"Uh ... stupid?" Ryan suggested helpfully.

Shar turned and glared at him a moment before sighing in defeat. "Just take the stupid picture, Ry."

Afraid she might change her mind at any moment, Ryan quickly reached his arm back out, careful to keep it out of the way and to hold the phone straight as he snapped their photo. Sharpay immediately snatched the phone back and began texting it in.

Something pink (besides his sister) suddenly caught Ryan's eye. He turned around just in time to see a giant pink banner being unfurled from the balcony behind them, emblazoned with giant silver sequins spelling out "Marry me, Joe! SE"

Ryan was still staring at the banner, his mouth hanging open, when Sharpay casually commented, "I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask, right?"

Sadly, she was absolutely right! What with their Promise Rings and all, marriage was their only real chance at getting some noogy! Ryan wished HE'D thought of it!

Sharpay must've read his mind for she patted his knee consolingly, pointing out, "This is why you shouldn't try for Nick - he's still jailbait, you know."

Ryan smiled wickedly. "Not in my daydreams," he said with a wink.

"Ew, Ryan! TMI!"

...

As the first opening act left the stage and the lights came up, Sharpay's brother turned to her, asking, "So what'd you think?"

Sharpay shrugged. "The lead singer needs a new hairstyle, the entire band needs a new wardrobe, and the girl in their music video for that movie looked super annoying!"

"You mean _Bandslam_? I thought that movie looked good."

"Of COURSE you did, Ryan!" Ryan and Mother were both total saps when it came to romantic comedies. Come to think of it, Daddy was, too! Sharpay was apparently the only one in the family with any sense!

As the crowd of little girls around them randomly began to scream again, Sharpay asked, "Why do they keep doing that?"

Ryan pointed back up at the screen. "They're showing texts."

Sharpay looked up just in time to see a new message pop up:

_scream if u 3 kevin_

Apparently none of the pre-teen girls in the audience had Sharpay's gaydar for they all burst out screaming. She rolled her eyes, mumbling to her brother, "They're such sheep. I mean, just listen to them. Someone could text "jump off a cliff' and they would probably- YES! WOOHOO!" Sharpay interrupted her own tirade to cheer as the next text proclaimed:

_scream if u think joe is a hottie_

After all, she had to let all the little girls around her know that she was a Joe-Girl - as if they couldn't tell from her shirt and the giant banner behind her!

After showing her appreciation for the buff singer, Sharpay turned back to her brother, asking, "Now what was I saying?"

But Ryan was laughing, and it took her a moment to realize he was laughing at her. Instead of getting angry, she merely shrugged it off. "We're here to have fun, right?" She smiled. "So we might as well enjoy ourselves!"

Ryan seemed to agree, and the two of them settled back in their seats, staring up at the screen and following its directions, screaming together for JONAS and taking turns when their respective brothers were named. Occasionally people would text something else, like birthday wishes or saying hi to friends, but most of the texts followed the same pattern.

Until...

_Moo if u 3 JONAS_

Shar looked at her twin and they both burst out laughing as the auditorium was suddenly filled with the sound of cattle.

"Points for originality," Ryan suggested.

But the next text was even weirder:

_Big Rob heard that JONAS are as sexy as tacos_

Sharpay and Ryan turned and stared at each other in confusion, which soon turned into hysterical laughter as the next text proclaimed:

_Tacos rock!_

"You know, there's 'original'," Sharpay explained through her laugher, "and then there's crack!"

But the texts then returned to their boring standard format. After cheering for her Joe, Sharpay stared more closely at the message currently on the screen:

_scream if you luv Joe?_

"What's with the question mark?" Sharpay asked. "'Scream if you love JOE?'" she said, exaggeratedly raising her voice on the last word to make it sound like a question.

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe it's supposed to be ironic?" he suggested.

Yet the next one was similar:

_I 3 Frankie.? Scream if u do 2!_

"Are they not sure if they love Frankie?" Sharpay asked sarcastically. "What's up with that?"

The next one was even more extreme:

_scream if u # all Lucas bros equaly!~# !_

"Get a handle on your punctuation, people!" Sharpay yelled at the screen - this was getting ridiculous!

_Nick, Joe & Kevin should be in Bollywood_

Shar turned just in time to see her brother tucking his cellphone back in his pocket. "You are SO pathetic!" she teased as she dug out her own phone and texted a quick message.

Almost immediately the auditorium was filled with screaming girls reacting to her text:

_Scream if you love their tight pants!_

As she and her brother screamed happily together, Sharpay was thankful that they could at least agree on something!

...

Ryan had been standing in line for what seemed like a year. As soon as Jordin Specks had left the stage, he'd told his sister that he was going to run to the restroom before JONAS began. Sharpay had insisted that, as long as he was getting up, he should go buy her a diet coke. He'd naturally agreed, having no idea that the line would be so long!

And so SLOW! It wasn't even moving! The same guy, a father with four pre-teen girls, had been at the counter since Ryan had joined the line! The woman behind the counter kept walking away and then returning, shaking her head. Ryan wished he could read lips so he'd know what the problem was. He was tempted to switch lines, but he figured that, as soon as he did, Murphy's Law would rear its ugly head and the new line would come to a grinding halt!

Ryan nervously checked his watch for the zillionth time, afraid he was going to miss the beginning of JONAS. But he knew better than to return to his sister empty-handed, so he continued to wait.

Right as the father with the four girls FINALLY moved away from the line, food in hand, Ryan felt a jolting vibration near his crotch, causing him to jump . He reached into his front pocket for his phone, but his jeans were so tight that he had to shimmy to dig it out! When he was finally able to read the text message from his sister, he breathed a sigh of relief:

_Nevermind! Just come back._

Ryan hurried back to his seat, just in time for the emcee to come bouncing back onto the stage.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~!" the emcee's mic blasted loudly through the auditorium, so distorted that no words were discernable.

"Nice sound system," Ryan commented sarcastically.

Sharpay nodded, handing him a pair of neon pink earplugs. "The sound for JONAS better be better or I'm demanding my money back!"

'YOUR money?' Ryan thought, remembering that she hadn't yet paid him for her ticket.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~," the emcee continued. "~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - JONAS!"

The audience screamed even louder than before, and Ryan was thankful for the earplugs.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - JONAS!"

The crowd again burst out screaming. Sharpay, however, turned to Ryan, her eyes open wide in mock surprise, and gasped, "OMG, is THAT who's playing tonight? I LOVE them!"

Ryan laughed. His sister had a point - why did the little girls have to scream so excitedly at every mention of their name?

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~."

"Come ON!" Sharpay called out impatiently, no longer amused with the crowd. "Just get on with it!"

Ryan couldn't help but smile. Shar had downplayed her interest in this concert to their friends, pretending that HE was the real fan and she was merely accompanying him under protest. But clearly that had all been an act, for she was just as excited as he was!

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...," the emcee paused dramatically before finally introducing, "JONAS!"

Ryan and Sharpay both leapt to their feet, screaming along with the rest of the audience as the house lights dimmed.

...

Sharpay was thoroughly enjoying herself. She'd spent most of her life ON a stage, not in the audience, and it was fun to be watching for a change. Especially to be watching JONAS, who were clearly master showmen. And watching from this distance instead of from the front row gave her the perspective to see everything at once, allowing her to take in their varied formations upon the three stages.

Although she wouldn't have minded being closer to Joe. His arms showed that he'd recently been working out, and Sharpay would've liked to appreciate his muscles up close and personal!

After another peppy song, a white grand piano was raised up into the middle of the spinning center stage with Nick upon the piano bench, already playing the opening chords to the ballad off their newest album. As the spotlight zoomed in on him and the rest of the stage grew dark, Sharpay and the others in the audience took their seats for the first time since the concert began.

After the first verse, Nick seamlessly segued into his trademark song about his struggles with diabetes. While Sharpay would never admit this to her brother, she was well aware that Nick WAS the most talented of the Lucas brothers. And while Joe was still the hottest, Nick wasn't a bad catch himself.

Mid-song, Nick started to vamp, repeating the same chords over and over as he started to talk to the audience. He talked about his diabetes and how he knew what it was like to struggle. He talked about how he'd written this song for anyone who'd ever had a broken heart, hoping it would inspire them to hold on and keep going a little bit longer. And, gesturing to the crowd, he said earnestly, "YOU are my inspiration - and I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Sharpay sniffled and tried to blink away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"Are you crying?" Her brother sounded incredulous.

"No! Something just flew into my eye!" Sharpay angrily wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek, embarrassed to have been sucked in by Nick's sappy monologue. She then glanced over at her brother, who had tears streaming openly down his face.

"Are YOU crying?" she asked.

"YES!" Ryan sobbed, reaching into Shar's purse for a kleenex.

Sharpay laughed, no longer embarrassed by her own weakness for her brother's was far more pathetic. In fact, she looked forward to teasing her brother about this for the next 18 years!

...

Ryan didn't notice that the Lucas brothers had seamlessly changed outfits until he found himself staring at Joe.

More specifically, at Joe's arms!

Ryan was not into super-muscular guys. The East High football team had never been the stars of his daydreams, and other than his summertime crush on Chad Danforth a few years ago, he'd never really been that attracted to athletes, preferring instead the lean, toned bodies of his fellow dancers. But now, rocking out in his new black tanktop, Joe's buff arms were, frankly, HOT! Not that Ryan would ever admit it to his sister, but he was definitely enjoying the view.

Of course, Nick had changed outfits, too, and in his new black leather jacket he looked hotter than any 16-year-old had a right to. Ryan suddenly remembered his sister's warning about "jailbait" and instantly concluded that Nick would definitely be worth risking jailtime for!

As the Lucas brothers concluded their song, Kevin called for the houselights to be brought up. "We wanna see those posters," Kevin called out, and Ryan instantly fumbled to get out his. It had gotten a bit trampled during the concert as he and Shar danced to the music, but it still looked respectable. He held it up high above his head...until he felt a sharp elbow in his side.

"Ow, Shar! What was THAT for?"

"You're blocking my banner," she said as it if were obvious.

"Your banner is 15-feet long - I can't possibly be blocking it THAT much!" Ryan defiantly raised up his poster again. He truly hoped that the camera would seek out HIS message and NOT Shar's and project it on the screen for Nick (and everyone else) to see, but the camera didn't even come their way! The screen DID show, however, a poster declaring, "R.I.P. Joe's straight hair!" This made both the Evans twins laugh, easing the tension between them.

As the band started their next song, the houselights again dimmed, and Ryan couldn't help feeling disappointed that no one had seen his poster. But as Nick and his drum set were raised up in the middle of center stage, Ryan forgot all about his disappointment as he became mesmerized by his favorite Lucas brother beating away at the drums. In fact, Ryan was so wrapped up in watching Nick that he almost didn't notice that Joe and Kevin were being raised up on a strange-shaped arm on one of the side stages.

And he was totally unprepared for what happened next, despite having read about it on LuvUsSumLucas. Joe and Kevin suddenly raised up what looked like Ghostbuster guns and began spraying foam out at the audience as the giant arm rotated them around in a giant circle. Ryan couldn't help but laugh at how phallic it all seemed.

Leaning over to his sister, he teased, "This may be your only opportunity to be sprayed by Joe's white creamy foam, sis."

Sharpay returned a sarcastic smile. "Too bad for you that Nick's at the drums."

"He's probably not allowed to spray in public," Ryan joked. "He IS jailbait, after all."

Sharpay laughed as the giant arm finally reached their side of the auditorium and they were both drenched with foam.

...

"WTF?" Sharpay asked as Kevin suddenly appeared on-stage in a white raincoat. But she got her answer a moment later as a giant waterfall suddenly began flowing onto one of the side stages.

"Oh my god, that's..." she couldn't even think of a word to describe the incredible spectacle.

"FABULOUS!" Ryan finished for her, and Shar turned to see her brother as amazed as she was.

"Why didn't WE ever think to do a waterfall?" Sharpay asked, upset that the idea hadn't occurred to them before. But now that it had, she was determined to perform with her own waterfall. She grabbed her phone out of her purse and began taking photos; the staff at Lava Springs needed to know exactly what she wanted them to build for their summer talent show. Unfortunately her phone camera was having trouble focusing on the falling water. She tried zooming in and out several times to no avail. She finally tried turning it off and back on again, but it still wasn't working well.

The song was almost halfway over as she continued to struggle to take a decent photo. And just as the waterfall was finally in focus, the photo wouldn't take - her phone was out of memory! She sighed frustratedly as she opened up her folder of photos and erased all the blurry ones to make room for more.

Once she'd cleared enough memory, she tried again to take a photo, but it was STILL blurry! After she turned her phone off and on once more, she was able to get a perfect shot of the waterfall just as the three Lucas brothers brought their song to an end.

"That was just amazing," Ryan said into Sharpay's ear as they enthusiastically cheered for the band. "I've never seen falling designs like that - who knew you could do that with water?"

"Designs?" Sharpay asked blankly.

Ryan nodded. "I mean, I thought the hearts were cool. But then when the falling water transformed into the lyrics of the song, and then their logo, and then THEM...I don't even have words for how cool that was!"

Sharpay stared at her brother, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. She might've thought he was pulling her leg - whoever heard of a waterfall in the shape of a band logo! - but he seemed truly amazed, and he wasn't that good an actor to pull something like that off.

Which meant she'd missed it! The entire thing! A waterfall with words! A waterfall in the shape of Joe! The coolest effect of the entire concert, and she'd been too busy fighting with her phone to see any of it! She wondered if she could sue Verizon for making such a stupid phone!

As soon as she got home she'd need to check out youtube to see if anyone had recorded it, since she desperately wanted to see the fabulous effects. However, she doubted it would video very well since simply taking a STILL photo had been such an effort.

In the meantime, Sharpay knew she WAS that good of an actor, and she would merely pretend that she'd seen it all - her brother need never know she'd missed it!

...

Ryan's feet hurt from standing for the entire concert. And his throat hurt from screaming and singing along. And his ears wouldn't stop ringing.

And he'd never felt better!

"This was such a great concert," his sister was gushing. "And not just the music, I'm talking about the entire spectacle - the spinning turntable and the trampoline and the foam and the WATERFALL - the whole thing was fabulous!"

Ryan completely agreed, which was why he was still reluctant to leave, even though most of the arena had already cleared out. He wanted to stay, basking in the JONAS vibe for as long as possible.

And for once, Sharpay didn't seem anxious to go either. She was babbling excitedly, going over every minute of the concert:

"...and we need to learn how to do some of those stage flips - I'm sure Daddy would buy us a trampoline if we asked. And performing in the round is so much more intimate - maybe we could-"

"Hey, guys," Mark said, suddenly appearing in the aisle next to them. "Enjoy the concert?"

"It was incredible!" Ryan enthused to the usher.

"Fabulous!" Sharpay concurred as Mark handed back her folded banner.

"I'm glad," Mark said. "You know, I worked the Meet'n'Greet before the show, and my job was to cut off the wristbands as people left." He dug into his blue blazer pocket and pulled out two cut wristbands. "I thought maybe you guys might want them. I mean, they're not much, but these wristbands did meet JONAS."

Sharpay greedily snatched one from Mark's hand. "Fabulous!"

"Yeah, thanks, Mark," Ryan said, smiling excitedly as he took the other one. Holding it in his hands, he realized that this very wristband might've touched Nick's amazingly talented hands...or brushed against Joe's buff arms! He would treasure it always! He considered his options: he could tape it back together and hang it from his rear-view mirror or simply use it as a bookmark in his music composition notebook.

But Sharpay clearly had other plans for hers. "C'mon, Ryan, let's go!" she ordered impatiently, shoving Ryan out into the aisle. "We've got to get home...I need to put this on ebay as soon as possible!"

Ryan shared a look with Mark and shook his head.

"Thanks again for the wristbands, Mark," Ryan said, hoping his sister's greed didn't turn his friend off.

But Mark merely shrugged. "No problem. I'm glad you liked them...and the show."

"Come ON, Ryan! Stop flirting and let's go!" Sharpay grabbed his wrist and pulled him up the aisle.

Ryan turned to give one last look at the JONAS stage before his sister yanked him away. One last text was projected upon the screen:

_Scream if today's the best day ever!_

Despite his sore throat, Ryan simply had to scream!

THE END


End file.
